Lost and Found
by matcha-sama
Summary: Takao loses his wallet, but when it is returned to him, it brings with it an old friend. Post-high school AU. MidoTaka.
1. Chapter 1

Takao swore as he felt his pant pockets - they were all empty. He groaned and ran his hands frustratedly through his hair. His wallet was missing. He had gone out earlier that day to run some errands, and that was probably when he had dropped it. He began desperately searching through his small apartment on the off chance that he'd simply misplaced it in his home rather than out in public. His search yielded no results, and after and hour and a half of tearing his place apart and turning it upside down in hopes of finding it, he plopped down onto his sofa, defeated. He had had two fifties, three tens, his latest paycheck, and a couple of old high school photos in his wallet. He had never thought that he'd lose his wallet, of all things, so he'd been fine putting the pictures in there, and while he couldn't quite say that he cared more about the pictures than the money he'd had in his wallet, the photos still held a great deal of sentimental value for him. He wanted to punch himself in the face enough as it was.

"I can't believe this…" he muttered dragging a hand down his face. How how was he supposed to pay the month's rent? He was barely making ends meet as it was, what with going to school while working two part time jobs. While he did have some money in the bank, but it wasn't much, and certainly not enough to cover today's loss. He sulked on the couch for a good half hour before getting up and trudging to the kitchen, deciding he may as well get started on dinner. He made a mental note to talk to the landlord about if he could pay the rent a little later; there was no way he could pay now.

Peering into the fridge, he made a face at what little he had - a few eggs, a half a carton of mild, and a jug of orange juice. He sighed heavily at the thought of his need to go grocery shopping, and quickly shut the fridge, opting to pull out a bowl of instant ramen from the cupboard.

He had just set a pot of water on the stove to boil when there was a loud knock at his door.

"Coming!" he called, drying his hands and going to the door, unlocking it, and pulling it open. "Can I help you?" he asked, taking a small step back, rather surprised that he had to actually look up to meet the man's eyes. Takao wasn't short - not by a long shot - but he still had to tilt his head to look at the man's face, and when he did, he could hardly believe his eyes. Suit and tie led up to the green eyes behind the half rimmed glasses he'd grown so familiar with so many years ago, and they were staring back at him, the surprise in them mirrored in Takao's.

"Shin-chan?"

"Takao?"

The two spoke in unison, and gawked at each other for several long moments.

"Long time no see!" Takao exclaimed, being the first to break the silence, grinning up at his friend. "How long has it been? Four years? Five?" Midorima peered at him for a moment longer, before looking away and readjusting his glasses.

"It's been six." he replied tersely.

"That long, huh?" Takao said thoughtfully. He nodded, moving the thought to the side. "Anyway, what brings you here? How'd you find me?" he asked curiously. Midorima reached into his pocket, and pulled something out, showing it to Takao in explanation. Glancing down, Takao's eyes widened. "My wallet!" he yelped, taking it from his friend, a wave of relief crashing over him. "I can't believe you found it!" Midorima huffed.

"You should be more careful with such important things. Had it not been me that had happened upon it, it certainly would have been stolen." the man chided, earning sheepish laughter from Takao. "You're lucky you had your address written inside."

"I think I'm just lucky that you brought it back to me."

"Well, of course I would."

"No, what I mean is, I'm lucky that it was you."

Midorima made a soft disparaging noise, looking away again, but Takao didn't miss the pink tint that came to his cheeks.

"Have you had dinner yet?" the man asked abruptly, startling Takao.

"No…?" Takao replied slowly.

"Good. Have dinner with me."

"That's not a question, is it?"

"Of course not."

Takao laughed.

"Alright, Ace-sama. I'll listen to your selfish wish. Two more for today, got it?"

Midorima huffed.

"Just hurry up."

* * *

><p>AN: Just a quick thing I did a while back, and didn't post it. (Okay, I did, but then took it down) I still have some uneasiness about writing MidoTaka, to be honest. Not quite used to their personalities. If you have suggestions on how I could improve their characterization, please let me know!

Thanks for reading. Reviews are much appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's chapter 2~! I've decided to continue this- a conclusion I've come to based on the lovely support that I've received. Thank you very much for your encouragement!

* * *

><p>"So where did you want to go for dinner?" Takao asked, holding the door to his apartment open for Midorima. Striding in past Takao, Midorima looked around at the small apartment, and the minimal furnishings. In the living room - if you could really call it that - there was a worn down sofa against one wall, with a second hand coffee table in front of it, numerous water rings stained the surface. A few takeout boxes lay abandoned there, and Takao grabbed them and put them in the trash bag in the kitchen sheepishly. It was a kinda embarrassing how run down his place was, but in all honesty, most of the time, he couldn't bring himself to care at at all. He was hardly at home anyway - when he was, it was usually to sleep.<br>"There's a good restaurant not too far from here." Midorima replied ambiguously, glancing over at the old sofa and taking a seat on it. Looking up at Takao expectantly, he raised an eyebrow. "Well? What are you standing here for? Get ready to leave." he commanded flatly. Takao laughed, nodding, and turning away.  
>"Alright, alright, let me get changed."<br>"Don't concern yourself too much over dressing properly to go there. It's a rather casual restaurant." Midorima called after him, and Takao couldn't help but smile to himself.  
>Takao changed into clothes that would make him look less like a hobo, and more like someone who'd be Shin-chan's friend. Which was really just the white dress shirt and black slacks he'd bought for his mother's funeral some years back. Glad that they were still in decent shape since he'd last worn them, he put them on, and checked the mirror and made sure he looked acceptable, but at the same time, a little casual. He grinned at himself. It truly felt like ages since he'd last seen his friend, and he was ecstatic that they'd managed to meet again.<p>

* * *

><p>Upon arriving at the restaurant, they were seated at a table, and given menus. Before beginning to look over his menu, Takao first took in the atmosphere of the restaurant. As Midorima had said, it wasn't formal or anything, but he wasn't overdressed either. The interior design was nice - he assumed they were going for a natural look, what with the organically shaped wood tables and the soft light that emanated from paper lanterns. The indistinct chatter coming from the other patrons was somewhat soothing, and Takao smiled to himself as he picked up his menu and flipped through it. He had to say, Shin-chan had good taste in restaurants.<br>A waitress stopped by to ask what they'd like to drink; Takao ordered a beer, Midorima, some sake. She returned quickly with their drinks, and promised to be back to take their orders shortly. The two looked over the menu quietly, and apparently deciding at the same time, they put it down. Takao reached for his can of beer, a soft 'pshht' sounding as he opened it and poured it into the glass provided.  
>"So what've you been up to, Shin-chan?" he asked, taking several gulps of beer.<br>"I was studying abroad for a year, before returning and training at my father's hospital." Midorima said, timidly sipping from his own drink.  
>"That's right, your dad's the head doctor at a hospital…" Takao said, feeling stupid for not realizing until now. "So you're a doctor, then?"<br>"Nearly."  
>The waitress returned, pen and notepad in hand. Midorima asked for cheese wonton to start, and then ordered the tonkatsu and tempura teishoku, while Takao ordered the pork ginger special. Once the waitress left, they picked up their conversation where they'd left off.<br>"As expected of Shin-chan..." Takao murmured, propping his elbow on the table and resting his head on his hand. "You're well on your way to becoming a doctor, and I'm still stuck working odd jobs." he sighed. Midorima quirked an eyebrow at him.  
>"I thought you'd have graduated. We entered college at the same time, did we not?"<br>"You'd think so, but nah." Takao laughed, finding Midorima's perplexed expression unbearably funny. "I mean, I did start college right after we graduated from Shuutoku, but about a year and a half in, my mom died." Glancing at Midorima over his can of beer as he drank, Takao saw a look of shock on his friend's face. His lip turned upwards at one end in a smirk, though his eyes held no mirth. "She left behind kind of a lot of debt, all of which could have fallen to my younger sister, and I couldn't have that."  
>"So you...?" Midorima trailed off, unsure if he should finish the sentence.<br>"So I said I'd take care of the debt. She's got potential. I didn't wanna hold her back from going to school."  
>"And by doing that, you're hindering your own potential and your ability to get a higher education." Midorima stated bluntly. Takao shrugged, downing the rest of his beer.<br>"I don't mind too much." he admitted. "I don't really know what I want to major in or anything, so I didn't have a clear path. So if you think about it, I'm not 'hindering my potential', I'm deciding what I'm going to do once I start, so I'm actually saving money compared to if I just dive into college headfirst without aim." he reasoned smugly. Turning away for a moment, he ordered another beer before looking back at Midorima.  
>"I...suppose that makes sense." his friend said reluctantly. Takao smiled.<br>"Exactly."  
>They'd changed to lighter topics after that, telling each other interesting happenings as of late. They continued talking as they ate, prolonging their time at the table, and before they knew it, a few hours had passed. They'd finished eating long ago, but continued ordering drinks, so the restaurant couldn't very well kick them out. But at long last, Midorima decided they ought to leave. Despite not having classes or work tomorrow, he thought it best to get Takao home before it got too late.<br>"Takao, we should get going." Midorima said, downing the last of his water and grabbing the bill. He waved a waiter over, and paid for the two of them. After the waiter returned his card and left the two of them, Midorima glanced over to Takao, who was still sipping from a can of beer. To be honest, he wasn't sure how much his friend had had to drink, but Takao was more than tipsy - Midorima deemed it to be enough, taking the beer away from the man and holding it out of his reach.  
>"Takao. We're leaving."<br>"Shin-chaaaan!" Takao whined, his speech slurred. He attempted to reach for the can of beer Midorima had confiscated from him, but his hand-eye coordination wasn't quite working, and ended up accidentally hitting Midorima in the face. Takao sobered for a moment, staring at Shin-chan, who was very clearly getting more irritated. "Sorry, Shin-chan." he mumbled, looking sincerely apologetic. Midorima sighed heavily, setting the can of beer down on the table. He left a tip, and looked pointedly at the drunken man before him  
>"Come on. Move." he ordered, pressing Takao in the direction he needed him to go. Takao made a sound of protest, but it quickly died when Midorima took hold of Takao's arm, snaking it over his shoulders. Now with no resistance from Takao, Midorima guided him out the door, and back towards Takao's apartment.<p>

* * *

><p>"Takao, I need your keys." Midorima said, shaking his friend gently to rouse him- Takao was half asleep by the time they got back to his apartment. Takao mumbled incoherently, leaning even more on Midorima, burying his face in the man's shoulder. "Takao, now is not the time to be sleeping. I need to get you back in your apartment. Where are your keys?"<br>"P'ket." Takao groaned softly. Shaking his head, Midorima daintifully reached into his friend's pocket, and pulled out the key. Unlocking the door, he let himself in once again, and shuffled over to the couch, where he lay Takao. He padded over to the kitchen, and filled a glass with water, returning to Takao and offering it to him.  
>"Takao. Here, drink this." he said, poking the other to get his attention.<br>"Hn? Why, what is it?" Takao asked dumbly, his alcohol-addled mind unable to comprehend what was even being offered to him.  
>"It's water. If you don't drink, you'll have a horrible hangover come tomorrow." Midorima warned. Takao grumbled under his breath as he struggled to sit up, but took the water, and drank it slowly.<br>Midorima blamed the buzz from the alcohol for his lack of inhibition, because he found himself leaning in closer to Takao than socially acceptable, and his eyes locked onto Takao's widening ones, drawing closer and closer until their lips met in a chaste kiss. Silence stretched for quite some time, and Midorima pulled away, finding Takao blinking up at him, a vague look of confusion on his face.  
>"Shin-chan...?"<br>Coming back to himself, Midorima felt his face turn a deep red, and jerked away from Takao quickly.  
>"Sleep, Takao. It's late." he uttered, standing up and moving to leave.<br>"Shin-chan!" Without the slightest intention of turning back around, Midorima was nearing the door when there was a loud thud, the unmistakable sound of Takao falling to the floor. Immediately shuffling back, Midorima found the man lying on the ground between his couch and the coffee table, flailing, trying to get up. "Shin-chan! Don't leave!" Takao whined, looking up at him, a helpless expression on his face.  
>"Why should I listen to your drunken ramblings?" Midorima demanded tersely, squatting down and helping Takao get back onto the couch. Despite Takao's initial sluggish demeanor, Midorima quickly found himself trapped in the other man's arms, being nuzzled into. "Takao!" he yelped. "What do you think you're doing?"<br>Takao smiled smugly behind him, and sighed contently.  
>"Stay…?"<br>Midorima considered tearing himself out of Takao's grip and going home - it would undoubtedly be easy- but Takao's words were too inviting, and Midorima found his will power a little too weak under the influence.  
>"Fine. Just this once, I'll listen to your selfish whim." he muttered.<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you so much for reading! I hoped this chapter was okay?

Personally, I love this AU, and I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do with it. I absolutely love MidoTaka. (If you couldn't tell already.) They're like...in my top 3 favorite ships in KuroBasu. In fact, MidoTaka is probably #1, followed by KiyoHyuu, then AoKi. But I digress.

Reviews are much appreciated! (Also, if you find mistakes or typos, please help me by pointing them out! I didn't have this proofread;; Sorry if there are any.)


End file.
